Coming into Port Everglades means an early day all around. The lower dining room and Club Orange were opened from 6:30 to 8:30am, but there was no room service. Every crew member was gearing up for the new set of guests, saying farewell to those who were going home.
Looking outside, all we saw was rain and a lot of it. We were docked in a different pier this morning - # 21. The Rotterdam had taken our usual spot at #26, while the Zuiderdam was at #19. Docked starboard side, we were looking across the harbor at the Allure of the Seas at #18. The Celebrity Edge was docked in front of the Rotterdam at #25 . Last but not least, were two Princess ships, the Caribbean Princess at #2, and the Island Princess at #4. This ship is the designated quarantine vessel now we heard.
Checking into the hourly forecast online, we discovered that as much as ¼ inch of rain was expected within one hour this morning. Should we leave, or should we stay? Not wanting to be stuck on the ship all day, we left in what turned out to be the worst part of the rain. Oh well, it's just water, and we were wearing jackets and had umbrellas. It wasn't that cold, but the streets and gutters were flooded.
We had to be off by 9:15am. Required things to take off were our passports, room key, and in transit cards. This time we had facial recognition, as we have had since almost the beginning. Looking at the camera, it was not working for Bill. After several attempts at adjusting the unit, the screen finally said "successful". I went next, and it worked fine for me. We assumed that if this camera failed, we would have had to show an agent our passports, so that's the reason we needed to take them off with us. So far, we have only used them once when there were no cameras.
What a mess of folks there were outside the terminal who were waiting for rides with taxis or buses. We wove our way through them, then waited for the rain to let up. The streets were like a river at this point. We figured we could cross the street and access the parking garage to walk to the other end without getting too wet. That worked, but once out on the streets, we did get soaked a bit. The wind was blowing, which did not help.
The first stop was at the Renaissance Hotel across the highway from Walgreens. We were hoping to be able to go online at the hotel to update the Kindle. Got online, but there was a very slow connection, and no time to download anything. Usually we do this at Duffy's during lunch, but we did not plan on eating out today. Besides that, today was Super Bowl Sunday, and the restaurant would be busting out the seams. We are still leary of crowds and will be for a long time.
We continued up the street to Publix, stopping first at TJMaxx to look for a men's zippered sweatshirt for Bill. Even in this large store, we could only find ones with the ½ zipper. Not planning on buying anything else, I ended up with two more silky long sleeve sweaters. Nice to have something warmer for dinner. Publix was next door, and we did a little grocery shopping. We can tell you one thing…..when it rains like it did today, everyone goes out to the food store. It was the most crowded as we have ever seen it. Naturally, with the game coming up later, folks were buying typical football food. If we were on a world cruise, there would have been a super bowl party with tons of snack and finger food. Doubt that happened here.
Good news was by the time we left the supermarket, the rain had let up. The walk back did not take as long, as we did not have to dodge puddles and speeding big rig trucks. Some of them drove way too close to those backed up gutters, causing a shower. We know they secretly laughed if we got wet. Others were better, slowing down as they passed by. One van driver even stopped to ask if we needed a ride back to the terminal. We thanked her and said we were good.
On our way back, we always have to stop at the checkpoint to show our ID. This time the agent came out, and after looking at our ID's, she asked if we were armed. We suppose this is a common question, but when we heard it, we said oh my gosh….no. Then we were free to go. There are always a couple of police present if there is a problem.
Back to the terminal at 1:30pm, we showed the in transit cards, and were brought to the line to board without going to the desk. We headed to the room to change clothes and warm up. In our room, we had two trays with bruschetta, and three truffle-like desserts. Sparkling wine was chilling on ice, and a new HAL bag was on the bed. There were 17 diet cokes, a dozen gorgeous red roses, and cards from the Mariner Society and our travel agent. Nice welcome back for another cruise.
The Island Princess left first at 3:15pm, but we could see she had no passengers. This is the new quarantine vessel now. Now that we do not have to go to a muster drill, it is done on TV, as well as getting your cards scanned. We did it once in December, and we are still in the system, so do not need to do that every time. By the way, our shipboard account rolls over with every cruise.
Captain Eric did the drill info and a mask warning before we left at 4:15pm. He laid on the horn all the way through the passage. There would be no naps for these folks in the condos today. The Celebrity Edge followed us out of the port. The rest stayed and left later we guess.
We hung out in our room, watching the sail away. Then we had snacks for lunch. That's when our TV decided to stop working. Reporting it to the front desk, they sent Koko to fix it. Once again it was remedied by unplugging the TV, then plugging it back. That fixed it. Koko suggested that when the people leave, the info on the TV's is erased, starting clean for the new guests. We also advised him that the volume on the bow camera was turned down in all of the rooms. Hard to understand the announcements on the outside verandas, the TV works best. Koko reported it, and an hour later we got a call from the technician thanking us for our input. They adjusted it for the whole ship, and yes, it was much better.
The Super Bowl was on the Special Event channel , where we watched it until it was time for dinner. Tonight we made reservations in the Tamarind, since nothing on the menu appealed to us. We left Barb a message, but she never responded. They may have had other plans that worked around the game. Our meal was perfect with a shared plate of assorted meats, one Thai salad, and a bowl of ramen soup. I was served a huge rice cracker, while Bill had a basket of shrimp crackers. Entrées were wasabi-crusted tenderloins, kept hot on very heated plates. Sides we shared were brown rice and sauteed shitaki mushrooms. Delicious, we ordered a small bowl of vanilla ice cream for dessert. On the way back, we wandered through the shops to see if any new merchandise had been added there. We would say no.
Now we will have two days at sea as we sail towards the ABC islands. First stop will be Bonaire.
Bill & Mary Ann
PS Wishing everyone a very Happy Valentine's Day!!
Monday, February 14, 2022
Report #58 Fort Lauderdale, Florida Sunday - February 13, 2022 Heavy Rain Most Of The Day 70 Degrees
